O'Reiley Sega: NIGHTWING
by mrjop2
Summary: Nightwing aka: Dick Greyson returns to New Gotham to team up with Helena to stop a drug lord who is distributing drugs which gives super human strength. Meanwhile, Barbara's and Dick's relationship begins to grow beyond professional!
1. Face from the Past

THE FOLLOWING STORY IS NOT MEANT TO INFRINGE ON ANY COPYRIGHT LAW SET BY WARNER BROTHERS. THIS IS MEANT FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSE AND FOR MY CONTRIBUTION IN WANTING TO SEE THE TELEVISION SERIES BROUGHT BACK. IF YOU ARE A FAN OF BIRDS OF PREY AND YOU ARE UPSET ABOUT IT'S CANCELLATION, VISIT THE WEB SITE www.birdsofpreyonline.com. THIS IS STORY 3 OF A NEW SEGA CONTINUING WHERE DEVIL EYES LEFT OFF.  
  
Birds of Prey  
The Commissioner O'Reiley Series  
  
STORIES IN THE COMMISSIONER O'REILEY SERIES:  
Episode 1: Huntress the Hunted Part 1  
Episode 2: Huntress the Hunted Part 2  
Episodes 3  
NIGHTWING  
CHAPTER 1  
  
It was the first day of class in a new semester. Dinah was back in high school, much to her dismay. She would rather be out there, helping fight crime with Helena. High school was just a waist of time, but like always, Barbara forced her to return to school.   
  
Well, one good thing about school was that she had friends, and she was happy to see them again. "Hey, Julie!" Dinah said with a smile on her face.  
  
"Dinah!" The two of them hugged. "You look different." They walked side by side down the hallway amongst hundreds of other students.  
  
"Well, I thought I would grow my hair a little, and see how I look in a braided ponytail. I also had a broken nose, so I've been said my nose looks a little different. What do you think?"  
  
"I think your hair is cute, and I think your nose makes you look cute. All the guys will probably be hording all over you this year."  
  
"That would be wonderful!" Dinah laughed. "Well, this is my class room," Dinah said.  
  
"Get out of here! This is where I am going too! We have the same class together!"  
  
"This is great! I hate science to the max! At least being together will make it a little more bearable."  
  
"Who's the teacher anyway?" Julie asked.  
  
"I have no idea," Dinah said. The two of them walked into the class room and Dinah came to an immediate halt, causing Julie to bump into her. "Oh my god, you've got to be kidding me."  
  
There behind the teachers desk was Barbara who was erasing the chalk board. She looked over her shoulder to see Dinah standing there and smile came over her face as she put the eraser down and clapped the chalk dust off her hands. "Hello Dinah!"  
  
"Barbara, what are you doing here!" Dinah whispered angrily, her eyes didn't hid the displeasure of seeing her in her classroom.   
  
"I'm the teacher of this class, and while in here, you will address me as Ms. Gordon." Barbara replied quietly to Dinah, so no one else would hear.  
  
"Did you know that I was going to be in your class?"  
  
"I knew a few days ago." Barbara replied, controlling her wheelchair behind the teacher's desk.  
  
Dinah walked along with her. "And you didn't tell me?"  
  
"First, what difference would it have made? Secondly, I don't discuss teacher topics with students. Go ahead and take a seat, class is about to start."  
  
Dinah rolled her eyes as she turned around to go find a seat. Julie dashed to catch up and took the seat immediately next to the seat Dinah sat down in. "You know the teacher?"  
  
"I rather not talk about it," Dinah grumbled.  
  
* * * *  
  
Night had fallen on New Gotham, and it was time for the Huntress to go to work. Helena was standing on the ledge overlooking the Gotham National park. It was a small park right in the middle of New Gotham. The night had been rather slow that night up to this point. The park was notorious for women being raped after midnight, so perhaps she would get lucky and get to kick some raper's ass and teach him to keep his hands where they belong.  
  
Instead, she found what looked like a drug pusher and someone else who was looking to buy the drugs. She could not get a good look at either of their faces. She also noticed a bunch of rough, ragged looking men were coming out from hiding placed behind the pusher. A smile came onto her face. It looked like she was going to get some action tonight after all.   
  
She made her way down the side of the building. As she went down, things began to get violent between the pusher and the other person. It started off with shoving, and soon the push took a swing for the other's face. The crowd of thugs began to move in on their victim.  
  
That was when Helena was in place to leap in to action. She leaped amongst the thugs. "Hello boys, anyone want to play?"  
  
The thugs began to move in on her and she began to take them out. She high kicked a thug in the face, causing his feet to slip out from under him and come crashing down onto his back. Helena jumped and spun in mid air. While spinning in mid air, she kept her right foot out and kicked several of the thugs across the face. This caused a slight domino effect.   
  
Helena turned to find some of the thugs surrounding the guy she had come to rescue. A thug had grabbed him by each arm and the pusher approached him with a switch blade. Helena was on her way to help him, but instead, he jumped and brought both of his legs up to kick the pusher in the chest. He used his chest to flip over the two thugs that had held him, as he slipped out of their hands. Now he was standing on the other side of them. He grabbed the both of them by their necks and crashed their skulls together. The drug pusher charged at him, shaking his switch blade over his head. The man, Helena had originally thought to be the intended victim, caught the pushers wrist and twisted it back. The pusher screamed as the knife fell from his hand. With the back of his right hand, he slapped the pusher across the face and stumbled forward until he fell onto his stomach.   
  
Helen was amazed at his fighting skills. All the thugs began to gather themselves and ran for their lives. Helena approached the man to see if he was okay. "That was some fighting you did," she complimented.  
  
"Thanks Helena. I guess I wasn't that bad after being retired for close to ten years."  
  
Helena eyes him suspiciously. "How do you know who I am?"  
  
"You mean you don't recognize me and you've known me all you life? Well, I suppose the last time you saw me, you were a little girl. It has been a long time, hasn't it. It's me, Helena: Dick Greyson!" 


	2. Venom Patches

CHAPTER 2  
  
"Dick Greyson? You're Nightwing!" Helena said in awe.  
  
"That's me. I know I've been gone from Gotham for so long, and I missed you growing up, but indeed you have grown up to be a beautiful young woman. You're eyes are a dead give away, that's how I knew it was you. So tell me, did your father train you to fight this way?"  
  
"No, my father has disappeared from Gotham. I have no idea where he is, and right now, I can care less." Helena replied.  
  
"Bruce left Gotham? What could possibly cause Bruce to quite being Batman? That's not the Bruce Wayne I know."  
  
"Well, the 'Bruce Wayne' I know is an abandoner. He abandoned me! He left when my mother was murdered by Clay Face. He didn't come to console me or even take me in."  
  
"You're mother is dead? Helena, I'm so sorry!"   
  
"It was more than the murder of my mother that made Bruce leave. The Joker hired Clay Face to have her killed. The Joker, before he was killed, wanted my father to suffer, so not only did he have her killed, but he tried to have Barbara killed."  
  
That information got to Dick. "Barbara Gordon? Batgirl? Please don't tell me she was murdered too!"  
  
"She's alive," Helena replied. "She's the one that raised me since my mother died, and trained me to be the Huntress."  
  
A great relief came over Dick. "Glad to see that she's okay and still here fighting crime in Gotham. So where is she? Is she still working as Batgirl?"  
  
"Since the day she was shot, she could never again be Batgirl."  
  
"Why?"  
  
The sound of police sirens began to echo through the streets. Helena looked around and then back towards Dick. "You'll see for yourself. I think that sound means it's time to head off. As of late, the police and I are in the middle of a misunderstanding. Follow me."  
  
* * * *   
  
Barbara and Dinah were alone at the clock tower. Helena was out roaming New Gotham so this was the perfect time to find out what has been bothering Dinah. "I still don't understand what you are upset about. I'm your English teacher, so what?"  
  
"So what? We live together, and now I can have you nagging me at home about my English homework!"  
  
"I am not going to nag you about completing your homework here at the clock tower, however, in the classroom, I will treat you the same as any other student, and you are to treat me as you would any other teacher."  
"No, I would have to treat you better than I do any other teacher," Dinah muttered underneath her breath.  
  
Barbara looked up at her suspiciously as the elevator reached the top floor. "Are we going to have to have a talk about your performance in your class rooms?"   
  
They heard the door open so they both knew this conversation was going to continue later. Helena came walking into view, with a smile on her face. "Hi guys! We have a visitor that you may want to meet, Barbara."  
  
Coming up from behind Helena was someone Barbara had not expected to see again, and that fact was clearly apparent on her face. "Dick?"  
  
"Hi, Barbara!" He smiled. Dick and Helena joined Barbara and Dinah onto the platform. Dick was looking at her sympathetically. "I can't believe that your paralyzed. I thought you would still be working with Bruce and Tim."  
  
Barbara had mixed emotions about seeing Dick again, and Helena noticed it almost immediately. "Yea, It's no fun, but I've dealt with it."  
  
Alfred entered the room, and there was a pleasant smile on his face. "Master Dick! Indeed this is a very pleasant surprise to see you again!"  
  
"Hiya, Alfred. Please," Dick looked at everyone in the room, "I go by the name Richard now. I'm not a young man anymore." Dick smiled. "Helena has filled me in about what's been happening here in New Gotham since my departure."  
  
"That's good," Barbara replied. "Now you can fill us in on about you, as in why have you not kept in touch and why you left, and why you chose now to walk back into our lives?" Barbara looked at him, with a little frustration in her voice.  
  
"Fair enough," Richard conceded. "I know you must be a little sore at me, Barbara, and you have every right to be. I have not followed events here in Gotham for a long while. Well, obviously Bruce and I had our differences, and that's why I quit being his protégé and went solo and became Nightwing. For awhile, things were going great, and Bruce even found himself a new Robin. What you probably didn't know is that the disagreement between Bruce and myself had intensified greatly. It was about the time Helena was born when I had enough and left Gotham for good. I wanted nothing to do with Bruce at that time.  
  
"From there, I moved to the far end of New York and worked as Nightwing there. Crime was very slow there, so eventually I decided to retire from Nightwing and go into business. I now own a multi-million dollar business of my own, nowhere near the money Wayne Corp. brings in. Anyway, just recently I happen to have discovered that these things were being distributed in the streets." Richard threw a small green square object over at Barbara.   
  
She caught it and began to inspect it. "What is it?"  
  
"When I tell you, you are going to know exactly what I am talking about and why I am gravely concerned. They are being called venom patches."  
  
Barbara looked at him in disbelief and in horror. "I prey to god that this is a joke!"  
  
"Wait a minute, did I miss something?" Helena said, stepping in between the two of them. "Venom patches? What is so horrible about that?"  
  
"You don't know the half of it, Helena. Your father faced many villains in his lifetime, but none so deadly as a villain named Bane. He had the strength of a thousand man, and it's because of a poisonous serum called Venom. The more he used it, the more powerful he became," Barbara replied.  
  
"So, you think Bane is back in New Gotham?" Dinah asked.  
  
"I doubt it," Richard replied. "At least, he, himself, is probably not here. You see, he has disappeared, and no one knows exactly where he is. The venom which he used to give him strength was also killing him. We believe his addiction to Venom became so strong, that it became his life force. Without Venom, he would die within hours. That was when he disappeared, and chances are he is probably dead."  
  
"Then who would bring these Venom patches back out and distribute them out into the streets?" Barbara asked.  
  
"I have done research, and the result of my research has brought me out of retirement and back here to New Gotham, because I believe the person responsible for dealing the patches is currently here. No one knows his true last name, but he calls himself Alexander Bane, and claims to be Bane's son."  
  
"Bane had a son?" Helena repeated in disbelief?  
  
"There's no way to confirm if he is or not. All I know is that he is responsible for the venom patches hitting the streets. I am going to bring this man down and get his drug off the street. The drug is giving all of it's users super strength, and is starting to cause riots through out New York."  
  
"Whoever this Alexander Bane is, he must be stopped," Helena agreed. "Well, you've come to the right place. It looks like we're going to be partners!"   
  
"I can use all the help I can get right now. This is far bigger than I had first anticipated." Richard looked over at Barbara and saw the lack of enthusiasm in her face. 


	3. A Night on the Town

CHAPTER 3  
  
Barbara was alone on the platform just enjoying the time by herself. She really wasn't doing anything important; she was just pretending to look busy. Unfortunately, it didn't fool Richard. "Hey, are you busy!"  
  
"Sure, go ahead," Barbara replied, turning her wheelchair around to face him. It was the first time she noticed that Richard still had his long hair that he kept into a ponytail with a rubber band, only now his hairs had a few strands of grey hair peeking through his oily black hair.  
  
"I can't help but feel that there is some sort of resentment between us."  
  
"No, really?" Barbara said sarcastically.  
  
"Did I offend you in any way? Why are you angry at me? I just got here, I couldn't have done something this quickly to get you mad at me."  
  
"That's just it, 'Richard'! You just got here, and how long have you been gone? It's been nearly 15 years! It's been nearly fifteen years that I last heard from you. Since you ran off, not once did you explain why you ran off, and not once did you even try to make contact with me? For god's sake, you didn't know anything that has happened here the last fifteen years. "  
  
"Is that what this is about? I am truly sorry that I disappeared from the face of the earth. That was totally wrong of me, but I did try to contact Bruce several times to find out how you all were doing but I kept on getting no reply." Barbara said nothing as she looked down. Richard could not read her face. "There's something more behind all of this, is there? You had feelings for me, didn't you?"  
  
"What, me? Of course no," Barbara denied.   
  
"You did, didn't you?" Richard smiled as he sat onto the counter top. "You said that you were upset that I didn't make contact with, 'you', not 'us'. Frankly, I have troubles believing that Bruce and Tim would care if I made contact with them or not."  
  
Barbara smiled sheepishly. "Okay, perhaps I did have a crush on you."  
  
Richard smiled. "Well, If truth be told, the only reason I had made attempts to make contact with Bruce was to try to get a hold of you. You were the only thing that made leaving New Gotham difficult to leave."  
  
Barbara rough looking face had finally warmed up with a radiating smile. "Really?"  
  
"It's the truth," Richard replied. "Listen, let's smooth things over tonight. How about a dinner date?"  
  
"What? Tonight? Right Now?"  
  
"Yes, right now! Go put on your best dress! I'm taking you out for dinner tonight!"  
  
"How about Alexander Bane?"  
  
"You are a workaholic! Forget about it tonight. Take the night off. Tonight, you are I are going to spend the night on the town."  
  
* * * *   
  
Alexander Bane stepped out of the front door to his run down shack and took a look at his surrounding. There was a much different feel here in New Gotham than anywhere else he had been. There was so much history in New Gotham, and it was as if he could feel that history through the air. "New Gotham, the place where my father thought could bring to ruins. It's only fitting that it is the next place to push my patches."  
  
Alexander was a hefty young man of the age of twenty-five. He had neatly shaved brown hair and brown eyes. He was well built, not quite like his father, but Alex was still young.   
  
The clicking of a gun grabbed his attention as he felt a gun pointed at the temple of her head. "Gimme ya wallet, punk!"  
  
Alex had a grin on his face. "Today is just not your day, is it?" While he said that, he placed one of his venom patches onto the bottom of his right wrist.  
  
"Shuddup and gimme ya wallet, freak!"  
  
Before the mugger could react, Alex spun around and knocked the gun out of his hand with his left arm. Alex grabbed the mugger by the shirt and lifted him up high off the ground with ease.  
  
The thug was petrified with his display of strength. "Sorry, I'm not much in a forgiving mood tonight, but I will understand if that comes to you as no consolation." Alex lowered him down a little so he could take his right hand, form a fist, and finish him off with a powerful punch, destroying his nasal, causing it to ram up into his brain and killing him instantly. He dropped the thug to the ground and yawned. He turned around and returned inside the shack.  
  
* * * *  
  
Helena and Dinah was downstairs, waiting for Barbara to come out of her room. The two would agree that it was well worth the wait, when Barbara came rolling out of her room. She was wearing a one piece black dress with sparkling glitter. The dress was kept up by black strings going over her bare shoulders. Both arms and her neck were bare. On her feet were her black, slip-on, high heeled dress shoes. "Well, what do you think!"  
  
Helena's eyes were open wide. "Wow, you are absolutely stunning! You're going to kill Richard in that dress."  
  
"You are absolutely amazing!" Dinah voiced her comment, her eyes were also fixed on her dress. "That is a gorgeous dress!"  
  
Barbara smiled at the comments. "I've had this dress for a year now, but never had a chance to wear it until now."  
  
"Knock, knock!" Richard said, walking onto the platform followed by Alfred who had allowed him in. He was dressed up in fancy black pants, and blue Alpaca sweater and a black sports coat over the sweater. He had come in with a bouquet of flowers. When he saw Barbara in her dress, he had almost needed to remind himself to breath. She was absolutely breath taking. "Wow, you are very beautiful tonight!"  
  
Barbara blushed shyly, while Helena and Dinah were snickering to each other. Barbara ignored the two girls and stared at the beautiful bouquet of flowers that Richard was handing her. "Richard, they're beautiful." She smelt the flowers, they had the fresh aroma of spring time flowers.  
  
"If I knew how beautiful you were going to be tonight, I would have done better in choosing the bouquet."  
  
Barbara smiled sweetly at the comment. Alfred had approached her. "Let me put these in some water for you. You two kids go off and enjoy your night out."  
  
"Yea, we can take care of business around here!" Helena replied.  
  
Barbara looked up at the both of them. "Tonight is a night off for both of you. No going out tonight, Helena, not when I am not around. With the police looking for you, it's not worth the risk."  
  
"Go already! I'm not a kid anymore, I can take care of myself."  
  
"Helena." Barbara looked up at her firmly.  
  
"Fine! Just get out of here, will you?" Helena laughed. "You worry too much."  
  
Barbara began to control her chair towards Richard but he ran up to her. "I insist, let me do the honors tonight." Richard ran behind her and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair. 


	4. Trouble at the Dark Horse

CHAPTER 4  
  
Helena was roaming the refrigerator looking for something to eat. "Man, Barbara needs to learn how to food shop, and do it more often." Helena closed the refrigerator door. "How about I contact Jesse and ask him to bring something to eat with him!" Helena called out to Dinah.  
  
"That's fine!" Dinah replied.  
  
Helena was about to pick up the phone when she heard Danielle's voice come over the communicator. "Barbara! Helena! Do either of you read me!"  
  
Helena ran onto the platform and up to the Barbara's workstation. Dinah ran to join her on the metal platform. Helena was franticly looking for the right button to push. "How the hell do I respond!"  
  
"Move out of the way! I've watched Barbara do this a hundred times!" With a push of a few buttons, she got the communicator up and working. "Go ahead!"  
  
"Danielle, this is Helena! What's up!"  
  
"Helena, thank god! I need you here pronto! A brawl has broken out in my bar, and I need your help to stop it!"  
  
"I'm on my way, Danielle!" Helena replied.  
  
"Wait a minute, you remember what Barbara said, no leaving the clock tower tonight."  
  
"That's because she's not here to work at her station, but you are. You take her place! You've watched everything has done. You should have no problem!"  
  
"Are you kidding me? I've never done this before! I've only watched over her shoulder."  
  
"Hey, how hard can it be?" Helena grinned. "Stay here, and be my guide. Danielle needs my help, and I'm going to help her."  
  
* * * *   
  
Barbara and Richard were sitting at the table, having just finished their meals and were waiting for their desserts. "Isn't it wonderful just to get away from the pressures of your job?" Richard smiled.  
  
"I must admit, it feels extremely good to get away from it!" Barbara nodded.   
  
"You are obsessed in your work. Why do you do that to yourself?"  
  
Barbara sighed. This was not something she wanted to talk about. "I was hurt recently. Someone I cared for deeply was murdered, and I suppose I am afraid to open myself up to that hurt again."  
  
"I am sorry to hear about your loss, but I'm glad to see you opening up once again."  
  
"If you hadn't return to New Gotham, I would not have come out of the clock tower for who knows how long. So tell me Richard, how does it feel to come out of retirement and become Nightwing once again?"  
  
Richard shrugged. "The thrill of it is something I missed, but that quickly goes away when my bones begin to ache. I'm getting too old to keep this going for so long."  
  
"With a device I made, I can walk, but at a terrible risk of destroying my backbone. Anyway, I've returned to being Batgirl a few times, but I have been everything but effective. I do miss the life terribly."  
  
"That's why you've trained Helena to take your place?"  
  
"Yes, however the anger she has in her still needs to be worked on."  
  
"I've sensed the anger in her, but I don't think her anger is all that bad. Bruce used his anger of his parents death as a child and became Batman. As Batman, that anger made him as good as was. I think Helena's anger is doing the same for her, like it did for her father."  
  
"I'm not sure. I never had any sort of anger to turn me into Batgirl."  
  
"Well, your father was not Batman. Like father, like daughter."  
  
Barbara chuckled. "If you say that in front of Helena, she'll tear your heart out."  
  
"Probably," Richard laughed. "Anyway, It's the anger that makes her the Huntress. I have a feeling if she looses that anger, her desire to be the Huntress will diminish and the desire to fit among the average people will grow. If that happens while she is stuck in the clock tower because of being wanted by the police, it will drive her mad."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
  
* * * *  
  
Helena arrived to the Dark Horse bar to see two men tearing the place apart. Danielle was taking cover behind her bar. When she saw Helena arrived she waved at her to come to her. Helena had to dodge a few flying objects to reach Danielle safely. "Wow, this is a brawl! I have never seen anything like this when this was still No Man's Land!"  
  
"You see those two gentlemen in the center of it all?" Danielle pointed to two bulky men who fighting with the other meta-men.  
  
"They're the ones to instigate this? There is something strange about them. They seem to be super strong, more so than you average male? I wasn't going to deal with them without your help."  
  
"Well, then, let's kick some ass."   
  
Danielle leaped over the bar and joined Helena as they pushed threw the other people to get to the two hefty man. Helena approached one of them who had his back towards her. She tapped him in the shoulder. He turned around swinging but she caught his arm with both hands and kick him across the face with her left foot. The man stumbled backwards a few feet. Her hands were sore after catching that man's arm in all his strength. Indeed, this man had some unusual strength in him. The man looked at her with fire in his eyes. He grabbed one of the men that was near by and picked him up horizontally over his head.  
  
Helena was in awe over his strength. She had never seen such strength before. "Take this!" he said as he threw the man at her. She put her hands in front of her it was successful for stopping the man and causing him any harm, but the impact sent her stumbling backwards and crashing into the bar.  
  
Danielle went after the other guy as Helena began her fight with her designated thug. Unfortunately for her, Danielle's guy saw her coming. "This is my bar, damn it! You can't come in here and start trouble!"  
  
"And how are ya' gonna stop me, little girl?" the man grinned as he approached her. Danielle turns around to her left and as she was about to spin fully around, she stuck out her right foot and kicked the man across the face. That had busted his lip open, but that was all. "Ya gonna pay!"  
  
Not giving him any time to retaliate, she kicked him in the knee cap and he screamed in pain. She then kicked upward, kicking him under the chin sending him flying onto his back.   
  
Danielle rubbed her back as she stood up straight again. The man she was fighting was storming towards her. She noticed a green patch on his right shoulder blade, just under his shoulder. "So you want to play rough with me? Come on, show me what you got big boy!" Helena smiled at him.   
  
Helena jumped up onto the bar behind her and the flipped over the man. He watcher her flip over his head, but failed to notice as she did so, she had reached down and ripped the patch off of his shoulder. He turned around to face Helena who was now behind him just in time to receive the flat of her foot into his gut and then the lower part of her right palm up into his face. He fell backwards, banging his head on the bar on the way down, knocking him out cold.  
  
Danielle went over the second thug whom she had flattened him on his back. She looked down to see if he was conscious. He suddenly grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her off her feet. Danielle fell onto her back as he leaped up onto his feet. He picked her up, horizontally, over her head.  
  
Helena looked to her left to see the second brawler having Danielle over his head. She ran to try to save her but he had thrown her before Helena could get to him. He threw her over the bar, and Danielle crashed into the line of alcohol bottles. Helena intercepted the second person before he could reach Danielle. Helena ripped the green patch off of his arm and tripped him onto his back. Helena found a pool cue on the floor. She kicked it up into her hands. The man tried to get up, but Helena slapped him across the face with the cue, knocking him out cold.  
  
"Who says history doesn't repeat itself."  
  
The rumble had come to and end as people were picking themselves up and dusting each other off. Helena jumped over the bar to check on Danielle. She was sitting up, holding on to her ribs. "Blast it! That's twice my bar has been thrashed!"  
  
"This time, I had nothing to do with it," Helena said. "Come on, you can clean up later. Let's get to the clock tower and get you patched up." 


	5. Return from the Night Out

To all of the readers, I just wanted to let all of you know, some of you might have seen a contradiction in what Barbara teaches. I have made changes in all appropriate chapters, and am going with that she is an ENGLISH teacher, not a SCIENCE teacher. Thanks to one you who corrected me in a review and suggested that she was an ENGLISH teacher. I believe that that was the case. If anyone knows for sure what kind of teacher she was, please let me know in a review and I will make the changes to all the chapters. SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION!  
CHAPTER 5  
  
Alexander Bane entered the warehouse unescorted. Inside, he found a bunch of businessmen who had been waiting for him. Most of them had machine guns in hand or close at hand. All of them grabbed hold of them as they heard him enter the warehouse. They pointed their machine guns at him but lowered them as soon as they realized who it was.  
  
"You're late, Mr. Bane." One of the men said coming out from among the other men with machine guns. Unlike the other men who were dressed in grey business suit, this gentleman was dressed in a black sports suit. He had perfectly combed black hair.  
  
"No, you and your men are early, Mr. Winters," Alexander grinned. "Anyway, let's not waist any more time, shall we? Let's get right to the demonstration of what my drug patches can do, shall we? Actions always speaks louder than words."  
  
"If it does what you say it does, we'll make sure these patches of your will be mass marketed through all of the United States."  
  
Alexander untied his neck tie and threw it onto the ground. He took off his sports jacket and threw it on top of the tie. He then unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off and threw it on top of the jacket. From his pocket, Alexander pulled out two venom patches. After slowly peeling the backs off them, he stuck one on his right shoulder and another one on his chest.  
  
Alexander closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he allowed the venom to flow through him. Mr. Winters could have sworn that he was watching Alexander's muscles expand. In just moments, there was a noticeable difference in his body build.  
  
With a devilish grin on his face, Alex made his way to the side of one of the limousines. He knelt down and placed his hands under the car. Giving out two hugh huffs, he began to push himself up with his legs, and the wheels on his side of the limousine lifted off the ground. He was using all the strength that was coming to him that his head was shaking and sweating up a storm. His muscles were bulging as he pulled his side of the car up off the ground. Finally, after a half minute, he was standing straight up, and now he revert everything he had into his arms.  
  
He continued to lift the car up until G-Forces turned from his enemy to his alley. The car fell over to it's side and Alexander smiled with accomplishment. He turned to find the reaction of his intended audience was one of satisfaction. To most people, that would be enough, but to Alexander, satisfaction was not enough. He wanted them to marvel at his product, so another demonstration was in order.  
  
"Very impressive, Mr. Bane." Mr. Winters said.  
  
"Oh, my demonstration is far from done." Alexander returned. "You see, my patches are good for 24 consistent hours of pure strength, as long as they remain on your body. They will never give out on you. They can go anywhere on your body, to hide them from the general public." He looked around and saw a large crate of weapons. It was a large wooden crate, nailed shut, but there was no doubt of it's contents. He approached the wooden crate and took a good look at it. It was six feet in height and two feet in width. No normal human could lift such a large crate full of heavy arms, then again, Alexander was no normal man. He was the son of Bane.  
  
He bend down and grabbed hold of the large crates and lifted with his legs. Again, his veins bulged from his neck as he put all the strength he had into his legs. Again, he slowly pushed his legs back to being straight. The crate was now three feet off the ground and Alexander Bane heard the awe inspired murmuring among the people and that was the result he wanted. He dropped the crate and it came down to deafening loud crash that echoed repeatedly in the empty warehouse.  
  
"That was from just 2 patches. Anyone can use as many patches at once as they want, without fear of side effects. The possibilities are endless for your business with my product."  
  
"You have asked for 2 million dollars for a million patches, correct?"  
  
"That is correct, Mr. Winters."  
  
"In that case, I want to up my order to five million patches," Mr. Winters grinned.  
  
"You have yourself a deal."  
  
* * * *   
  
Barbara and Richard was in the elevator, on the way to the top of the clock tower. The night was a night that Barbara would never forget. She had absolutely indulged herself of her time away from the clock tower. "Richard, tonight was the greatest night of my life."  
  
"I had a great time tonight as well. It makes me wish we would have done this earlier."  
  
"I wish we would have done this earlier too." The two of them found themselves lost into each others eyes.   
  
Richard knelt down beside her wheelchair. He reached in with his hand to move a strand of hair from in front of her face. He leaned forward, into her, and their lips finally met. Both of their lips, which have longed for this and have been deprived of it for these many years, were finally satisfied. Richard put his right hand on the side of her neck as they both indulged in this long awaited passionate kiss. Her skin was perfectly smooth, just as he had always imagined it would be. Barbara's eyes were closed, and it was like she was whisked away into the perfect dream. A dream, she prayed that would never end.  
  
The ringing of the elevator bell interrupted their kiss, and Richard stood back up to his feet. Neither of them knew what to say at that moment, but they both gathered themselves in preparation of being before Dinah and Helena once again. The Elevator door slid open and Richard pushed Barbara towards the door. She reached out and put her palm on the palm reader. When the screen turned green, the door opened and Richard pushed her into the hideout, closing the door behind them.  
  
At that point, Barbara regained control of her wheel chair and controlled herself towards the platform with Richard following behind her. They both stopped as they found Danielle sitting on the counter and Helena standing in front of her, wrapping Danielle's hips with a large and long ace bandage. "What's going on? Danielle, what happened?"  
  
"There was a brawl at the bar," Helena replied. "I'm no doctor, but I think it's safe to say she has a broken rib or two."  
  
"Helena, I told you that you were not to go out tonight! You're not ready to go out alone without guidance.  
  
"I had guidance. I had Dinah here guiding me," Helena replied.  
  
"Dinah?" Barbara looked over at Dinah and then back at Helena. "She inexperienced, Helena."  
  
"It was only a bar fight, okay? Just chill out!"  
  
"I asked for her help. She came to help me, Barbara. Two men were hurting people in my bar and there's no way I could take them alone," Danielle defended Helena.   
  
"They both had these on them," Helena handed Richard the venom patches that she had taken off the two men. "It looks like Alexander Bane has already started pumping these out into the street."  
  
"Those two men must have been test subjects or something. It's not like Alexander to hand these out to just anyone. He's looking to make a profit from these patches." Richard said looking at the half used venom patches in his palm. "I have to side with Barbara on this one. You don't know what you are up against, Helena, and you took an awful big risk going up against these two men, especially when they were high on venom."  
  
"Hey listen, I've been the hero here in New Gotham for quite awhile now while you ran away from New Gotham. I think I can take care of myself and deal with whatever comes around."  
  
"Okay, okay, let's drop it, both of you," Barbara said, intervening. "We're on the same team here. Okay, the first thing that needs to be done is a proper check up for you Danielle. No offense Helena, but you really do not make a good doctor." Helena shrugged her shoulders; no offense was taken on her part. "I want to take a look at your ribs and see how bad the damage is. Richard, would you mind hanging out with Alfred for a little bit, to give us some privacy?"  
  
"Sure thing," Richard said turning and around and heading towards the stairs leading to the second floor. "Hey Alfred, what's been going on with you?" Richards yelled as he climbed the stairs. 


	6. The Search for Alexander Begins

CHAPTER 6  
  
According to the bone scan that Barbara had taken, Danielle had two broken ribs. She had readdressed the bandages and Helena helped her put her shirt back on over the bandage. The bandaging was a lot less noticeable now that is was underneath her shirt. "Now, I would take it easy for awhile, and allow your ribs to heal."  
  
Danielle grimaced in pain. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."  
  
Helena helped Danielle off the counter and took some of her weight as she landed on her feet. Despite her help, pain stabbed her in her ribs which nearly made her collapse, but Helena holding on to her saved her the embarrassment and further pain.   
  
"I'm going to help Danielle home," Helena said.  
  
"Okay, but be careful." Barbara warned, but didn't really express too much concern about Helena's safety. She probably didn't suspect any entanglement with the police and had said that just as a force of habit.   
  
Richard entered the room once again, having been told that it was okay for him to return. "So how bad?"  
  
Sighing, she took off her glasses. "A few broken ribs. No internal bleeding."  
  
"She is very lucky that that's all she has. It could have been a lot worse, especially when we're talking about venom patches."  
  
"I think it's time we get to work on finding Alexander Bane. He's already ahead of us."  
  
"I believe you're right. It's time for Helena and I get to work. I'm going to go get suited up."  
  
"Here, take the ear piece and communicator so we can keep in contact. I know you don't need guidance, but…"  
  
"It keeps you in the loop, I understand fully," Richard smiled as he grabbed her hand and held it in his. "I'm going to change and go meet Helena. You can direct me to Danielle's place where I'll meet her."  
  
* * * *  
  
Helena opened the front door to Danielle's house and helped her into her house. Danielle reached for the switch and turn on the house. This was Helena's first time at Danielle's apartment. It was much smaller than she imagined it. Entering through the front door, they were in a tiny hallway meant for one person to walk through. The walls were painted a dirty light green all through the house. As soon as they were far enough in to close the door behind, immediately to their right was the door to the closet. A few steps after that on the left was the bathroom. Just beyond that the hallway opened up to the main part of the apartment. On the Right was a mini kitchen. It had a refrigerator and freezer combo, and a dirty stove. In the middle of the tiled kitchen was a cheep square table that could seat two. There was one knitted placemat on the table. On the left was Danielle's bed. Over the head of the bead was a poster of Jon Bon Jovi. On the right to the bed was a window where light of the moon was entering into the room.  
  
"Nice place you have hear," Helena said, looking around the room.  
  
"Sorry it's a little messy. I wasn't expecting company," Danielle said now walking on her own to her bed. Her ribs were killing her, and Helena knew it by the way she limped towards the bed.   
  
"Tomorrow, I'll try to find some time to help you clean up the mess in your bar. Right now you should get some rest, and I have to track down the dealer of those patches before they do any more damage." Helena walked to the window and looked out the window. There was a fire escape that lead both all the way down to the ground and one that lead to the roof top. Helena opened the window.  
  
"Hey Helena, do me a favor?" Helena turned around to face Danielle who sat down on her bed. "Catch the creep who is distributing those strength enhancers."  
  
Helena smiled. She knew that Danielle was in the dark about what she was up against, and perhaps that was for the best. She would not rest knowing that Helena was up against someone with the strength of over ten men, and right rest was what she needed. "I'll be happy to."  
  
Helena climbed out the window and shot up the fire escape towards the roof top. She move so swiftly up the ladder, that it was like she was not even stepping on each step, but just flying up the ladder. As she reached the rooftop, Helena shot up like a bullet out of a gun. She flew about three feet over the roof top and then came down and landed on the roof top.   
  
Helena looked up towards the giant full moon who was reflecting it's brilliant radiating light throughout New Gotham. Helena closed her eyes and pointed her face upward to the heavens as the winds blew across her face, gently stinging her face like tiny pins pricking her skin. Her short hair waved with the wind. It was another beautiful night in Gotham, and it was time to get to work.  
  
"Wait up, Huntress!" Helena turned around to see Nightwing gliding from another rooftop onto the roof top she was standing on. He was in his full black costume with a thick blue line that came from under his right arm and went up to the center of his chest and back down to under his left arm. Underneath his arms, attached to the costume were little wings to give him the ability to glide. On his face was a tiny face mask that surrounded his eyes.  
  
"Nice costume," Helena smirked, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Hey, it's no wonder why your identity was so easily discovered. You make no effort to hide your identity," Richard grinned.  
  
"With looks like mine, why disguise it?"   
  
Richard laughed. "Anyway, it's time you and I got to work and try to find Alexander Bane.  
  
"So, any ideas of where to start?"   
  
Richard thought about that question. It was a good question after all. Alexander could be anywhere in New Gotham. "Those two you ran into at the bar are now in custody and in jail. They may know, but I would not be allowed to talk to them, nor are you. If there was someway of getting some information from them."  
  
"Is that all we need? Hell, I have a connection in the police department who has access to those two goons."  
  
"I thought the entire police force was after you?" Richard looked at her with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"They are," Helena grinned. "But one of them is after my heart." 


	7. Questioning

CHAPTER 7  
  
The prison guard opened the gate for Reese and he entered the small cell where the two men who were arrested for the bar fight were in their cots. The one on the bottom cot was sitting over the edge with his feet touching the cold cement floor. Helena described them to be average height but very thick. From what Reese saw of them, they were a bit on the heavy side, but nothing at all from the impression he was getting from Helena.   
  
"Wha' d'ya want?" the man on the bottom cot said in a less than enthusiastic voice.  
  
"I want you to answer a few questions for me, like how did you come by those patches you were wearing."  
  
"Drop dead," the other man on the top bunk replied without sitting up in his cot. He remained laying on his back, looking up at the ceiling.  
  
"Sorry, I'm not going to accept that answer today. I know that those patches gave you two some extra strength. I want to know a little about the person you bought those patches from."  
  
"Go to hell."  
  
Diplomacy has failed; not it was time for a more conventional method. Reese charged the man on the bottom cot and pulled him off his cot and onto his feet. He threw him up against the wall as the second man leaped off the top bunk and ran towards Reese. Practicing one of the moves Helena had showed him, he leaned left to raise his right foot high up and kick the other goon square in the chest, sending him crashing into the back wall. Reese grabbed the first brawler and threw him along side of the other man and pulled his gun out an aimed it at them.  
  
"So how about it, fella's? Feeling more cooperative yet?"  
  
"alright, already!" One of the two men said. "We got da sample patches from a man named Mr. Alexander. We told him we are sick 'n tired of dem Meta's. We wanted to kick dem asses! He gave us dem free samples so we could do just dat!"  
  
"Hate crimes? Since when did you start hating Meta's? There are no reports of hate crimes against them here in New Gotham."  
  
"Not yet, but dere will be. Deir presence are becoming more known to people. We've been told dat dey plan to destroy us. We ain't gonna tolerate no bull shit like that!"  
  
"Someone is trying to start hate crimes against the Meta's?" Reese mumbled under his breath. Though that was important information, right now it was more important to track down Alexander. "What about this Mr. Alexander? Where did you meet him?"  
  
"He'd found us," the other man replied.   
  
It sounded like Alexander was the one trying to set the stage for a war. "Describe him for me"  
  
"He looked like a business man of some sort. Not from around hear."  
"Did he mention about any clients of his?"  
  
"All dat dude said was his patches would be marketed world wide very soon."  
  
* * * *   
  
Helena and Nightwing were on a rooftop just waiting for Detective Reese to show up. Nightwing was very fidgety and could not stop walking around. "I am not sure about this, Helena. He's an officer of the law. The last thing we need is for you to be caught and be sent to Arkham." Bruce Wayne had only trusted Commissioner Gordon, Barbara's father, while this detective Helena talked off was strictly a detective. The current commissioner wanted her for murder. There was a distinct difference between the two. Helena seemed to be a little more reckless than her father.  
  
"You have to learn to relax a little," Helena replied. "I may do things differently than my dad, but my methods gets the same results, if not better."  
  
The door opened and walking onto the rooftop was Detective Reese wearing his trench coat that flapped in the wind as he walked confidently towards them. He never even looked around to make sure anyone was watching. Much to Richard's dismay, Helena walked towards to greet him, or that's what Richard thought. Instead she went into his arms and the two of them embraced each other and kissed. "I've missed you today."  
  
"As I, you." Reese replied as he leaned into her and kissed her. She had wanted that kiss for a long time. She had seen him all day, and she had waited patiently for the time that they would see each other once again so she could receive another kiss from him. The kiss was almost worth the long wait. "So, explain to me the importance of this Alexander Bane?"  
  
"I will, first, let me introduce to you Nightwing."  
  
"Nightwing? Can't say I recognize the name," Reese replied.   
  
"He use to be partners with my father. His name is Richard Greyson."  
  
"Helena!" Richard looked over at her in disbelief.   
  
"Richard, he's one of us. He knows the whole thing from my father being Bruce Wayne and Batman, to Barbara and Dinah. He's helped us take down Harley Quinn."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Richard. Are you in New Gotham for long?" Reese shook Richard's hand.  
  
"Haven't decided yet. Right now, I'm here to stop Alexander Bane," Richard replied.  
  
"Okay, fill me in a little about Alexander Bane. It may help me understand some of the information that I received."  
  
"Well, Alexander Bane might be the son of one of Gotham's most dangerous villains, Bane. He is distributing these patches which we call venom patches. They can enhance anybody's strength a great number of times. Bane was known for his intense strength using Venom. In fact, once Bane actually defeated Helena's father, Batman, and broke his spine with his bare hands. Fortunately, he recovered, but you now know how dangerous these venom patches are."  
"So what did you find out?" Helena asked.  
  
"Well, It seems to me that your Alexander Bane is trying to start a war against the Meta humans. He gave free samples to those two and told them that Meta humans are dangerous."  
  
Richard shook his head. "He has no interest in starting a war. He used them to commercialize his venom patches. He probably told them that to get the rowdy and cause a scene."  
  
"That could be true. He was seen dressed up in a suit, which told me that common street thugs were not his main target. They said they heard him talk about mass marketing these patches through all of United States very soon."  
  
"That is what I feared. We have to stop him right away," Richard said.  
  
"How? We don't know how he's going to mass produce them?" Helena pointed out.  
  
"Perhaps we do," Reese said. "I've been working on a case to try to take down a drug lord name David Blice. He is the most evasive drug lord we have ever encountered. He loves to export and import all forms of drugs. He does have access to produce narcotics and have them distributed all across the globe. I also suspect he is in the business of selling heavy and military fire arms to terrorist organizations. I would think something like these patches would get his attention very quick."  
  
Barbara's voice came over the ear pieces of both Helena, Detective Reese, and Richard. "You are rightt. Since the mention of that name, I did a search of his recent whereabouts. He has been spotted in New York just recently. My bet is that that is who Alexander Bane is trying to sell to."  
  
Richard and Helena looked at each other. They had a lead, a very good lead at that. They both knew it was time for some action. "Thanks, Jesse, that's all we needed to know."  
  
"Hey, do you two need any back up from me?" Reese asked.  
  
"I think we'll be able to handle it," Richard replied.  
  
"We'll do what we have been doing. Nightwing and I will take them out, you and the police will book them. Barbara will lead you to where we find them at the right time so we're not around when you arrive."  
  
"Very well, but be careful, will you?" Reese said.  
  
"I love it when you worry about me," Helena grinned. 


	8. Finding the Trade Off

CHAPTER 8  
  
Helena and Richard had followed Barbara's directions to where Delphi had last detected the location of David Blice had been. It took them to an abandoned warehouse. The two of them moved stealthily into the warehouse to find it empty. "It looks like they're long gone from here." Helena said looking all around at the cobwebs and dust that was frequent in supply.  
  
"They were here alright, though. Take a look at this," Richard said as he knelt down on one knee. Helena could not see what he was looking at until she was standing above him. "The dust is unsettled around here. You can almost see the outline of a large crate that had been here."  
  
"I'm impressed. I would have paid no intentions to this," Helena said halfway sarcastically  
  
"That is why you're not ready to go out alone without guidance," Oraclesaid over Helena's ear piece. "You still have a lot to learn in the world of crime fighting."  
  
"Hey, Oracle, are you seeing this?" Richard was now a few feet further from where he had first knelt down.  
  
* * * *   
  
Up on the monitor was everything that Richard's video contacts were picking up. Squinting her eyes, and leaning forward, she could make out tire tracks. "I see it alright. Let me see if I can identify what vehicle can make those tracks."  
  
Barbara began to work on just that. Delphi outlined the tire tracks in blue. The image magnified and the designs in the tire tracks became clearer. "It looks like these tracks belong to a limousine." Barbara moved the screen up and the computer followed the tracks to a garage door. "They entered and exited from a garage down the other side of the room."  
  
* * * *  
  
Richard followed the tracks to where Barbara had said the tracks had lead. Helena was still looking each and every way but down at the tracks. "So, how do we find out where they are now?"  
  
"That's where I come in!" Dinah came out of nowhere to join Helena and Richard in the abandoned warehouse.   
  
"I sent Dinah there figuring her meta-powers may prove useful."   
  
"Oracle, did your experience wearing your bat suit influence your decision not to dress these two into costumes of their own?"  
  
"That's a long story. There's no time to tell it," she replied with a laugh.  
  
"I'm not sure about this, Oracle. Touching a person and seeing their past is one thing, but I never tried it with an inanimate object."  
  
"I have every ounce of faith that you can do it, and besides, isn't it you who keeps begging me to let you join Huntress in the field?"  
  
"Yea, but I was thinking more of helping her kick ass."  
  
"Give it some time, squirt," Helena said patting her on the shoulder.  
  
"Huntress is right. You're almost ready. You've learned to control your anger and hatred, and your fighting skills have improved greatly. The one thing your still need to learn is street smarts."  
  
Dinah was disappointed that Barbara did not feel she was ready to go to work on the field with Helena. She had worked hard in controlling the anger that had swelled in her since her mother's death. It was her rash actions while she was obsessed in revenge which delayed her in her quest to help Helena patrol New Gotham. It was her fault she was in this position, and she knew it, but how long would she have to prove that she had her anger and desire for revenge under control?  
  
"Shall we get started?" Richard said, breaking her out of her trance that she seemed to have fallen into. He placed a caring hand on her shoulder. Dinah collected herself. "Is there anything in here that you know someone may have touched?"  
  
"No guarantees on anything. Why not try the tire tracks." Richard said, pointing to the dusty tire tracks.  
  
"It was going to be hard enough to try to do this with an object that they directly came in contact with. This is going to be all that more difficult."  
  
"You can do this, Dinah. There is no pressure here, don't pressure yourself. Just focus all your powers and channel it to your will. You control your meta-powers, not vice versa. Let your powers be your alley." Oracle said to Dinah through her ear piece.  
  
Dinah knelt down over the tire tracks and placed her five right fingers onto the track as she shut her eyes tightly. Her powers did not come to her naturally like usual. This time, she was working hard for her powers to turn on. This was the first time she was summoning her powers, and she was astonished how hard it was. She pressed in harder, and the strain was clear on her face.  
  
Finally, a vision came to her with such force; it nearly caused Dinah to topple over. The vision was very choppy but very clear. Everything was in black and white, as if she was watching an old forties film. She saw the limousine pulling into the warehouse. The scene cut off with well dressed business men stepping out of the limousine. Next, she saw a topless, very muscular man, lifting a giant crate. The next thing she saw and heard was them talking and making final arrangements. The man who she assumed to be Alexander Bane, was shaking one of the business men's hand. "So, we are set. We meet tomorrow at midnight right here in this warehouse."  
  
"Wonderful. I look forward to doing business together."  
  
Dinah broke contact and felt very woozy and disoriented. She stumbled backwards to find herself sitting on the dusty cement floor. Richard knelt down besides Dinah to make sure she was alright. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yea," Dinah replied. "Just a little dizzy, but that has passed. It took a lot to force myself into using my powers."  
  
"You did see something?" Helena asked.  
  
"Yes, I saw someone who I assume was Bane, and he had made final arrangements with a business man of some sort. The tradeoff is going to be here in just a few hours from now."  
  
Helena smiled as she looked at Richard. "We're early for the party. Why don't we prepare are guests for their arrival?"  
  
"Sounds fun," Richard agreed.  
  
Dinah jumped enthusiastically to her feet. "Can I stay and help?"   
  
"No, Dinah. Come on home. Today is not the day," Barbara said. 


	9. Death to Alexander

CHAPTER 9  
  
The limousine pulled into the warehouse where Alexander Bane was waiting, standing in front of two extra large crates full of his venom patches. He grinned as the limousine came to a stop and David Blice, and all of his men unloaded out of the car in their business suits. "Right on time, Mr. Blice. Let's not waist any time, shall we? Do you have the money?"  
  
"Follow me," David Blice waved. Alexander followed him to the trunk of the car where one of his men popped the trunk. To Alexander's delight, the trunk of the limousine was full to the rim of bundles of large bills. "Will this be enough for your liking?"  
  
"Oh, this will be plenty." Alexander smiled with delight. With this purchase, his venom patches will spread within days to the entire world. There will be mass chaos all over the world. Governments will crumble, and then he will be able to buy any country he wanted. "Those two large crates are all yours."  
  
"Better keep your money, Blice! Those patches are going nowhere." A male voice echoed through the warehouse. All heads were looking in all direction looking for the source of the voice. Landing amongst everyone was Nightwing and the Huntress. "It's over for you, Alexander!"  
  
"Nightwing? I should have known that you had come out of retirement to follow me to New Gotham."  
  
"I'm not going to let you distribute those patches out to the public!"  
  
"And you thing the two of you can stop me? You do have a sense of humor."  
  
"We'll see who's going to be around to laugh," Helena replied  
  
"Kill them!" David Blice screamed to his men, tired of the talk. He was not about to loose his shipment of patches. He would do whatever it took to protect them.  
  
All of his men pulled out their fully automatic machine guns. They swung the guns towards Helena and Richard and open fired. The two of them leaped high above the ground. Nightwing pulled out a hand full of bat-a-rangs and with one hand, threw them all at once. Somehow, they each flew towards different targets and successfully disarmed their targets. Helena pulled out a round bird-a-rang and tossed it gently. It hummed, and a blue light glowed from the center as it raced towards one of Blice's men. It disarmed him, and another nearby thug before returning to Helena as she landed back on the ground along with Nightwing.  
  
The two of them split off and began to take out Blice's men. Richard leaped head first towards two of the men. He stretched out both arms and tackled both men to the ground. Nightwing flung himself back up to his feet and looked around for the next goon to attack.  
  
Helena used her special ability to jump glide upwards almost as if she had the ability to fly. She glided just about five feet off the ground, just enough to kick one of Blice's men in the face. The man fell onto his back as Helena landed a foot past the goon. Helena saw David Blice running for one the machine guns that had been ripped from one of his men's hand. She leaped up into the air, bounced off the roof of the limousine with her back facing Blice, and back flipped just over the head of Blice. As she straightened out and was a few feet from landing, with her right foot, she pushed him face first into the side of the limousine.  
  
Helena marveled at her handiwork for a second before turning her sights to Alexander Bane. Richard was still fighting with a small group of David Blice's men. That left her alone with Alexander who had taken his shirt off. "You are going to die for this, Huntress!"  
  
"Bring it on, junior," Helena grinned, posed to fight.   
  
Alexander smiled as he pulled out four venom patches and threw them onto his chest. Helena could almost see his muscles expanding and his veins bulging from his body. Alexander took a deep breath, and enjoyed the feeling of the rush that the venom brought to him. He opened his eyes, and stared at her with fire in his eyes.  
  
Helena ran a few steps before gliding towards him to kick him in the face. Alexander caught her ankle and threw her effortlessly into the side of a limousine, shattering the windows and leaving a deep dent in the door. Helena grimaced in pain as she struggled to her feet. Alexander came charging her like a stampeding bull. His giant fist was pulled back and released for Helena's face. Helena slid down and his fist hit the door, nearly punching a hole into the door.   
  
Helena brought her right knee up to her stomach and with all her strength she had in her legs, she stomped into his knee cap. Alexander yelped in pain, giving her enough time to roll away and hop back up onto her feet.  
  
Richard had just knocked another of the Blice's men unconscious when he saw Helena confronting Alexander on her own. "Huntress, don't! If he's like his father, you won't be able to take him on alone."  
  
"Relax. I've got things under control!" Helena replied to Richard, without taking her eyes off of Alexander.   
  
"You have no idea of what you are up against, young Huntress." Alexander laughed mockingly with a youthful vibe behind it.   
  
Helena spun around to kick Alexander across the face but her stuck his left arm up to block the kick. Helena tried to make this attack look like a distraction while she went in to punch Alexander from the other side, but he knew better and caught her first in the palm of his and began to squeeze.  
  
Helena squealed in pain as she could feel the cracking of the bones in her hand. Alexander threw her to the ground and she laid there flat on her back holding her right wrist. She knew that she was lucky that no bones were broken from his super human strength. Alexander Bane grabbed Helena by her clothes and picked her up and held her over his head. He stepped up to the limousine and slammed her down onto the roof.  
  
Alexander turned around to see the Nightwing's foot come crashing into his face sending Alexander stumbling backwards. When he regained his footing, he wiped the blood from his lip and looked at Nightwing with anger. "You have bothered me for the last time, Nightwing!"  
  
Nightwing leaped straight up as he stretched her arms out horizontally. He leaned forward and flipped on his way back down. The heels of his two boot came down and crashed into the back of Alexander's head which caused him to lean down. Just as Nightwing was about to land, he clasped his two hands together to form a giant fist and as his feet touched the ground, he brought it down into his back. Alexander fell to his stomach.   
  
Alexander immediately reached out and grabbed Nightwing by the ankles and pulled him off his feet. Alexander climbed to his feet and grabbed Nightwing by both ankles. He spun him around several times before letting go and throwing him across the warehouse.  
  
Alexander stumbled a few steps forward as Helena had come out of nowhere and kicked him in the back of his head. Alexander turned around. "That was a mistake."  
  
Off to the left, David Blice, who had just regained consciousness, stealthily reached for his boot and pulled out a hand gun. Neither Alexander or Helena paid any attention to anything else but their fight. Alexander went to punch Helena but Helena stepped to her right, putting her back to Blice. David Blice aimed the gun directly for Helena's back.  
  
Nightwing, sitting up as he tried to regain his senses, saw Blice aiming and about to fire his gun at Helena who had her back towards him. "Huntress, behind you!" Richard yelled.  
  
Helena turned her head slightly and looked behind her with the corner of her left eye. She leaped upward just as the sound of the gunshot echoed through the warehouse. The bullet barely missed her ankle by inches, and instead found a new target: Alexander's heart.  
  
Alexander's eyes widen in horror as he collapse to his knees. Helena landed in the spot she had been standing before. David Blice, realized the serious error he made, but was determined to fix that error by not missing his target a second time. Before he could fire a gun, the gun flew out of his hand. He looked up and saw another young girl standing there. With a quick kick across the face, she was out cold.  
  
Helena turned around and smiled. "I thought Oracle told you to head back to the Clock tower, Dinah."  
  
Dinah shrugged with a innocent looking smile on her face. Helena laughed as she turned around to see Alexander lying on the ground lifeless. Richard joined the two girls looking down at the dead body of Alexander. "Not the way I would have liked it to end, but it'll have to do. Let's head back."   
  
  
  
` 


	10. Till we Meet Again

CHAPTER 10  
  
Richard and Barbara was alone near the elevator door. Helena and Dinah had decided to give them some privacy as they say good-bye to each other. Barbara was not taking his leaving that well at all. "I don't understand why you can't stay."  
  
Richard knelt down and grabbed hold of her hand. "Because my job is not done. Alexander Bane was not the big man. These venom patches was just part of a much larger problem that stretches beyond the New Gotham border. I have to finish what I have started and find this big man and stop whatever he is planning. Afterwards, I make you this promise, I am hanging up the cape forever and I am going to return to New Gotham. I want to be with you, Barbara. I love you."  
  
Richard went to reach out and put his right palm on the side of her face but she twitched and pulled her face away. "I love you too, Richard, and that's why I don't want you to go."  
  
"I will return to New Gotham frequently, you count on that. If not because of my job as Nightwing, then just to come and spend time with you, but once this is all over, I will be back permanently. Will you wait for me?"  
  
Barbara looked down and Richard's heart began to sank. Was this her answer? Was she not going to wait for his return? Was it over between the two of them? Barbara looked back up into his eyes with a gentle, loving smile on her face. "I will wait for an eternity if I have to." She pulled him closer to her and their lips met once again with a passionate kiss. It was the kind of kiss that made both of them to go on kissing forever, and to hold each other into their arms.  
  
After what seemed like only a split second, Richard stood up. "I'll come by for a visit soon. I promise."  
  
"You better," Barbara said with a smirk on her face.  
  
* * * *   
  
Helena, Dinah, and Danielle joined Barbara outside of the clock, looking down upon all of New Gotham. The sun was setting, turning the whole town orange. "So did Richard leave?" Dinah asked.  
  
"He left, but he'll be around," Barbara said, still staring out into the beautiful sunset.   
  
"You love him, don't you?" Danielle asked.  
  
Barbara looked over at Danielle and smiled. "Is it that obvious?'  
  
"Oh come on, Barbara, a crystal couldn't be clearer," Helena said. "It's great that you have found someone to love again."  
  
"I just can't help but feel guilty that it's so soon after Wade's murder. I feel like I'm cheating on him." Barbara leaned back in her chair and sighed. She had unintentionally brought back to her remembrance the tragic memories of her lost love.   
  
"You're not cheating, Barbara. Wade would want you to find happiness again. I have not seen you so happy in awhile. When you are with Richard, we can see the joy inside of you. You deserve to be happy." Dinah said, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Maybe I'm making a mistake. Maybe I should let Richard get too close to me. I don't want to see him end up dead as well."  
  
"Wade was not a superhero; Richard is, so he can take care of himself. Don't let fear be the deciding factor in your decision to pursue you own happiness." Huntress replied. That was something Reese had taught her when she had blamed herself for Wade's death.   
  
Barbara smiled as she looked up at Helena. "How are things going between you and Reese? Generally, you've been a whole lot happier since allowing yourself to get close to him."  
  
Helena blushed as she tried to hide her face. "It's true. He means the world to me. He has invited me to his apartment a few times."  
  
"Really?" Barbara replied with a devilish grin on her face. This was a topic Dinah was not about to get into. "Why haven't you?"   
  
"I don't know," Helena shrugged. "I love him, I really do, but I'm just not ready to take the relationship to that level yet."  
  
Barbara could read the look on Helena's face to know that there was something more to it than just not being ready, but she was not going to push her any further. "Well, there is no need to rush. Take your time."  
  
* * * *  
  
Commissioner O'Reiley sat at his desk in his office at the New Gotham Police Department. His office was dimly lit and he had his door shut and his blinds shut to let everyone know that he did not want to be disturbed. He held a small picture frame in his hands. It was a family portrait of Alexander Bane. Commissioner O'Reiley mournfully sighed.   
  
"You have never been very intelligent when it came to the family business, my son, and that was your downfall. Despite your arrogance, you shall be avenged my son. The Huntress will die, I promise you that much. She will know suffering from the same man who broke her father's back long ago. Bane has returned to Gotham, and if I can't see my vengeance on Batman himself then I shall pour out my wrath on his daughter."  
  
THE END  
  
COMING SOON…  
  
LONG AGO, ONE TRAGIC MOMENT WOULD ROB BARBARA GORDON THE ABILITY TO WALK FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE, BUT NOW, THAT GIFT WILL BE GIVEN BACK TO HER ONCE AGAIN.   
  
Barbara Gordon regains the use of her legs miraculously, but after investigating, she and Helena believe that Dinah's new boyfriend may have something to do with it. While trying to find some answers, they end up trying to protect the boy from a kidnapper bent on using his powers to heal his incurable disease.  
  
Episode 4: Walking on Air  
  
` 


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